For Lack of a Better Idea
by truevindication
Summary: Boat. Bourbon. Basement. A hungover Tony wakes up with little memory of the night before, having to get details from the last person he wants to. please R&R TIVA CH5: Wants & Needs. COMPLETE!
1. A Note & A Hangover

**Title: For Lack of a Better Idea****  
Pairing: Tiva, with slight McAbby and Jibbs (referenced)  
Rating: K+****  
Summary: **Tony wakes up to foggy memories of the night before... Beer, bourbon, a boat and Rule #12 slowly start to piece together in his mind.

* * *

Basement. Boat. Bourbon. That's really as much as Tony could remember. He scratched his head as he rolled over in a bed that wasn't his own and glanced around at the lack of décor. _Oh yeah.. Gibbs. _He sat up, very slowly as to not anger his already pounding headache. The last thing he remembered was being at the bar with McGee, then… a cab? Yeah, must have been a cab. Why couldn't McGee take him home? He looked around and found his jacket with an empty envelope, slightly crumpled. He furrowed his brow in confusion. So they went out drinking and for whatever reason McGee left without him. _What a good friend __**he**__ is_, he thought callously. And then what? He got into a cab… he remembered being the basement and finding the bourbon, not that it was all too well hidden. His mind flashed an image of Gibbs walking down the stairs in another one of his old NIS shirts. He hears Gibbs laughing in his head, what made him laugh? They worked on the boat, or Tony thinks he tried at least… His mind couldn't seem to get out of a fog and couldn't get any more answers about the night before. _Well. Only one way to find out._

He entered the kitchen quietly and he saw his boss sipping coffee and reading the paper.

"Ah, what a quaint little morning we have here, huh boss?" trying to play it cool he ignored the intense pain in his head and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across from his boss.

"Uh huh." Gibbs' eyes never left the paper and he kept sipping his drink casually. "Sleep well?"

"Oh yeah. Yeah…" his word lingered as he tried to figure out how to ask what he needed to know. "So… how was your night?" Gibbs only shrugged in response. "Right… um, boss, this may be a very personal, intrusive, even slightly embarrassing question…" Gibbs' slowly put the paper down on the table.

"I'm listening."

"Uh, for lack of better way to word this… what the hell am I doing here?"

A grin broke out across the older man's face.

-------

"_No! You go, McGee! I'm fine riiiight here." Tony slapped the bar top in front of him, ignoring the pleas of his friend to leave with him. "You got your fine bonny lass to tend to, so go to her!" His words slurred and made nearly no sense to the young probie. "Not like I got a lovely lady to go home to!"_

"_Tony, please, c'mon. You're done." He grabbed his arm and tried to pull him from the bar stool but Tony was being quite adamant. "Tony. Really. You know Abby will __**kill**__ me if I leave you alone here!"_

"_I'm not alone! I have Alvin to keep me company, right Alvin!" The bartender turned in his direction and grunted a small laugh. "Really, McGiggle, go, I'll be fiiiine." He took a swig of his beer and roughly slammed the empty mug on the bar. "Play it again, Sam! Er, Alvin!"_

_Tim knew it was a lost cause. He took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it quickly and asked Tony for a few bucks, which he obliged to willingly for lack of inhibitions. He asked Alvin for an envelope and put it in Tony's hand._

"_Ok, Tony. Tony. Tony!" Getting the senior agent's attention was getting more and more difficult. "Keep this. Alvin is going to call you a cab, and just give this to the driver and you'll get home fine."_

_Tony waved him off and held the envelope in one hand and his new beer in the other._

-------

"Envelope? Oh yeah.." Tony recalled finding the empty envelope in his pocket upstairs. "What was in it?"

"You know, Tim, he took care of you." Gibbs tossed the note across the table and waited for the reaction.

'_To whom it may concern: My name is Anthony DiNozzo and I am a complete moron. Please deliver me to Special Agent LJ Gibbs…_' Tony skipped the next lines of Gibbs' address, '_Thank you and here is money for the ride. Please keep the change. PS: If I act up, please tell me that you'll send the Ninja Chick to kick my ass.'_

"Well at least **he** had fun…"

"So did you, apparently." Tony raised his eyebrows at Gibbs', "You let yourself in and went down to the basement singing Sinatra. When I found you a few minutes later you broke chorus just long enough to explain you were on an epic quest to find the seam in the wall."

A lightblub went on in Tony's head, "oh yeah.. I wanted to see how you got the boat out."

"Mhm." A playful glint stayed in Gibbs' eye, "talked me into telling you, too. Didn't know you were such a good interrogator, actually."

With wide eyes Tony shook his head, inflaming his headache so he stopped, "You didn't!"

"Yup. Figured you wouldn't remember. Good thing you don't."

Tony cursed himself, if not for embarrassing himself than for not remembering how he gets those damn boats out. "But why would Tim send the cabby here? He could've taken me home, or even to his place."

"I called him this morning. He thought it'd teach you a lesson to wake up here."

"It worked." For a few minutes they drank their coffee in silence, Tony's headache subsiding and Gibbs… well, he was just enjoying his agent squirm for his stupidity. "Sorry, boss, I really didn't mean to impose." He stood up, "I'm gonna get my things and let you enjoy your weekend."

"Sit, DiNozzo."

Tony looked back in confusion.

"Sit down, Tony." He tilted his head in the direction of the chair Tony had just occupied. Tony gulped hard.

"Now I'm in trouble aren't I."

Gibbs shook his head, "There were some things you said last night that need to be… reiterated." Tony sat slowly, a look of fear present in his eyes. "Do you remember why you told me you got so drunk last night?" After a moment of silence Tony shook his head. "Do you remember our talk about Paris?"

Tony's mind flashed with pieces of conversation. Gibbs telling him about his undercover op with Jenny. Him telling Gibbs about the absolute comfort and trust Ziva put in him by sharing a bed with him in Paris. And then it hit him. They had a conversation about Rule 12.

Gibbs noticed Tony's eyes flash in a moment of recollection and nodded slightly.

"Do what makes you happy." He stood up and walked towards the kitchen and stopped at the doorway, "just don't play grab ass in the office."

* * *

**A/N: Not entirely sure how far I want to go with this, I already have chapter two written but not sure if it'll continue past that. Please review if you want me to continue, if not it'll be another scrapped idea, no harm no foul. :)**


	2. 2 Conversations & 1 Text

**Title: For Lack of a Better Idea****  
Pairing: Tiva, with slight McAbby  
Rating: K+****  
Summary: **After his awkward morning with Gibbs, Tony sets out to talk to McGee and Abby about the current situation. Gibbs finds it necessary to intervene as well.

* * *

Tony paced outside of McGee's door. This time yesterday his biggest worry was a foolish looking mustard stain on his new tie, and now here he was worrying about bearing his soul to his stoic boss, being ditched by his friend and looming, nearly buried feeling for his partner. Before he got the courage up to knock the door opened to a giggling goth.

"Tony!" She threw her arms around him and whispered in his ear, "please don't kill Tim." She released her grip and lead him into the apartment.

"Now why would I ever think of doing such a horrible thing?" He scanned the apartment and found his victim sitting casually at the table with a content smile on his face. "Maybe because he left me at the bar? Nah. Because he stole $60 from me? Because he gave that $60 to a cabby for a ride that only cost $25? Or because he sent me to Gibbs' house drunk as a skunk at 2 in the morning?!" His voice rose with each sentence, but both McGee and Abby seemed relatively unfazed.

"Good morning, Tony," McGee said with a smile. "Have a good morning?"

"You know perfectly well what kind of morning I had."

"Ooh, grumpy." Abby poured some tea and sat next to McGee, entranced on the dueling pair as if watching a zamboni.

"Tony, listen-"

"No McDitch you listen! You left me at the bar! And sent me to GIBBS! Really? Was that a great idea? Was it??"

McGee and Abby exchanged glances and then broke out into giggles and chuckles. "Yeah, actually it kinda was." Tony frowned, pouted and then finally succumb to exhaustion and sat at the table with them. "Tony, honestly, I didn't leave you in any danger. The cab was there in less than 15 minutes, you just _really_ didn't want me to give you a ride home."

"Oh, is that right? Why, did you start taking driving lessons from Ziva?"

"No, but close." Shifting slightly in his seat he fiddled with his fingers. "You were uncomfortable with the idea of me having a girlfriend and you didn't. More as me having a girl to go home to and you didn't. You got really bitter about it actually."

Tony looked back and forth between his two coworkers and shook his head. "That's impossible. I'm happy for you guys, really! You know that, right Abby?" Her eyes were compassionate but her expression looked like she was holding back. "Right?"

"Of course we do, Tony! But…"

"But what?"

"But you were jealous that Timmy got me and you couldn't get Ziva."

Tony froze.

"I made him tell me, I swear!" Abby exclaimed, hoping he wouldn't get mad at either of them for talking about him, even his inebriated self.

All of a sudden Tony threw up his walls and laughed with a frat boy smile. "Ziva? What are you talking about, McGee. Maybe _you_ had a little too much to drink last night too because-"

"Don't make me show you the video." McGee's expression was somber and entertained at the same time. Tony paled.

"You took a video??"

"You made me."

"I MADE YOU?" Why would I _make_ you take a video of me? That's ridiculous!"

"You wanted to call Ziva and change the situation and I wouldn't let you. You agreed to give me your phone so you wouldn't call her if I sent her a video message that was exactly 30 seconds long, that way you wouldn't 'waste her night away' or something."

Tony paused and weighed his options. If McGee was lying, then there'd be nothing to fear. Then again, he forgot an entire Friday night, so he didn't want to chance it. "Tim, I'll give you whatever you want if you delete that video right now. Money? I can give you money. Here, take it," he pulled out his wallet but McGee shook his head.

"I already did, Tony. The only copy is in your personal email."

Letting out a sigh he finally let down his defenses. "Well… where do I start to ask?" He ran a hand over his face and let out an exasperated sigh. "What did I do?"

McGee looked over at Abby with a small grin. "Well.."

"Tim. Please. Spare me the taunting, just give it to me straight."

"You sang."

"…I sang?"

"You sang very well, actually." McGee sipped his coffee nonchalantly, "Frank Sinatra never sounded so… poignant."

"Under My Skin?"

McGee shook his head, "All or Nothing at All."

"Ooh, classic. First ever recorded by Sinatra.."

"Yeah, it was also very telling." McGee still had that impish smile that Tony wanted to smack right off his face.

"Tony, you really need to tell Ziva how you feel."

"I usually don't care much about your date life, but I have to agree with Abby. This really isn't good. For you, for me or for Gibbs."

"Yeah- about that! Why send me to Gibbs McTattle?!"

"Where was I supposed to send you? Home, where you could barely get out of the cab, let alone to the fifth floor? Abby was here with me and I was apparently the last person you wanted to see. It was either Gibbs or Ziva. Lord knows what Ziva would have killed you with if you ended up on her doorstep in the state you were last night."

Tony pondered his reasoning for a minute and decided to let him live. He was right, it was the lesser of all evils.

Abby sighed. "You should ask her out." She said it straight and simple as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Me?" Tony was genuinely caught off guard.

"No. Timmy." She smacked him upside the head. "Of course you. Gibbs must have given you his blessing, otherwise you wouldn't be here to talk about it."

"Well I don't know about that.." Tony stood up and paced around the small apartment. "I don't see this ending well. At all! Gibbs' rule is right: we're coworkers!"

"Abby and I are coworkers."

"That's different! You don't see each other ALL the time, ALL day like Ziva and I do. What if-"

"What if what, Tony? Really, you have nothing to lose right now."

Tony look dejected and stopped. Abby saw the hurt in his eyes and stood in front of him with a gentle arm on his hand.

"What if what? What were you gonna say?"

He hesitated a moment before answering, then finally, nearly impossible to hear he said, "What if I mess up?"

---------------

"Is there a reason you are parked outside my apartment, Gibbs?" Ziva leaned into the open passenger window, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Yup. Can we go inside and talk?"

Sensing the serious tone in her boss' voice she nodded slightly and continued to her apartment. He followed her in a step behind, taking in his surroundings.

"Nice apartment. A bit smaller than the last one."

"Yes, well," she headed towards the kitchen for some water, "the last one _was_ a bit overdone, and since Eli is no longer funding my stay here.."

"Ah, downsizing."

"Yes." She walked past him and towards her bedroom. "Help yourself, I need to change."

Gibbs sat himself at the kitchen table, wondering how he got there. Yes, of course he had noticed the difference in dynamic of his team throughout the years, but usually it went unaltered, untouched by anyone but those involved. He was used to the changes that set his team apart from the rest, but in the most recent year it had changed to a point where it was something to be fixed, instead of letting it take its course. In this case he had to involved himself.

Ziva returned in a more relaxed shirt and sweats, obviously not wanting to take the time to shower with a guest waiting.

"Is there something wrong, Gibbs?"

Now that was a loaded question. "How have you been Ziva?"

The question took her off guard. "You showed up on my doorstoop to ask me how I've been?" She paused and saw the gleam in his eye. "Door step."

"I didn't say a word."

She shook her head, almost irritated, "No but there is a small Tony voice that just did."

"Oh?"

She took a step back as if she was caught. "No, not that I mean- well, he is always the one-"

"Take a seat, Ziver, I didn't mean to put you on guard." It was odd that it felt so natural for him to invite her to sit with him at her own kitchen table, but she obliged after grabbing him a coffee and her a glass of water. They sat in silence for a few moments, Gibbs not knowing where to start and Ziva not knowing if she wanted to even ask.

"Gibbs, if there is something wrong I would much rather you just spit it out." A thousand thoughts ran through her head. Was someone hurt? No, then he would be more of a rush. Surely someone did not die and put him in a somber mood. Maybe she was being let go from NCIS? Why would he be here to tell her that on a Saturday instead at work, or even with a phone call?

Instead of words he passed the note McGee had scribbled to the cab driver across the table. He watched her eyes scan it with confusion and a small chuckle.

"This? This is what you came here to show me?"

He nodded and shrugged slightly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Thought you should know."

"Know what? That Tony had allowed himself to become so intoxicated that he had to be dropped at _your _doorstep?"

"No," he leaned in a little more and with a lower voice he told her, "I thought you should know how much power you have over him to sober him up at the drop of a reference. Wanted to know what you knew about that."

She squinted at him with no more than pure confusion. "Gibbs, I am not understanding what the point of this is."

"Ziver, don't tell me you don't see this."

"I do not see why you came here to tell me of Tony's drunken antics."

"Because they were because of you." His words were strong, not in anger but in confidence. "Because of both of you. With whatever little _thing_ is going on or isn't going on I had to pick my senior field agent off my basement floor as he worried about going against _my_ rules about wanting to be with you."

She didn't say a word. To Gibbs' surprise she did not seem stunned by his words or even phased by them at all. If anything she sat up straighter, more… forced.

"I am sorry that this… _his_ feelings have involved you. That is unprofessional."

"You knew." She nodded. "You knew about his concerns over wanting to be with you and breaking the rules?"

She stood and took her glass to the kitchen, obviously just trying to busy herself. "Yes." She looked around for something to occupy her hands and found nothing so turned back to her boss with frustrated eyes. "We have talked about this before, so yes, I knew. And he knows my feelings on it, too, and we agreed that we cannot."

Gibbs stood and walked towards her, the kitchen bar counter separating them. "I think you need to check this agreement again, because it doesn't sound that way from his side, not from what he told me." He moved towards the door, "You two need to talk about this, before it becomes a problem at work."

"Gibbs." Her voice stopped him and she walked towards him. "It may not be an appropriate question, but why, other than it affecting our work, does it bother you enough to come to me on a Saturday?"

He turned slowly, and with gentle eyes and a soft grin he shook his head. "Ziver, you may not believe this, but I care about you, and Tony, and Tim, more than just my team. My rules are _my_ rules. Not yours. Not Tony's. If you can make it work, than do it. If not, then at least be on the same page with each other."

His previous words had just registered with her and her eyes widened slightly, "He… told you? What did he tell you exactly?"

"Enough to convince me it's a safe bet to come and talk to you and trust I'd walk out of here alive, Ninja Chick." He grinned and turned towards the door again.

She couldn't focus on any single thought, too many running through her mind at once. She was unaware of how much time had passed, but when she looked up he was gone, leaving her with her own questions to be answered.

She walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the steam fill up the small space before she stripped her clothes and stepped in. She rested her forehead on the cool, smooth tile, chastising herself for being so apparent that Gibbs had to come and talk to her.

_Who does Tony think he is, telling him our… dilemma?_ Well, the other half of the dilemma, one would surmise, but her mind kept on. _Does this mean Gibbs is telling us to squash it? Or does he want us to try? Is this his way of giving approval?_ Again, obviously she told herself he approved otherwise he would be banging down both their doors telling them to knock it off. _How am I supposed to make this ok? How do I even start the conversation? And by Monday? I probably will not even see him before Monday!_ Her thoughts were cut short by her phone beeping right outside the shower curtain on a side table. She patted her hand on a towel hanging on the wall and flipped open her phone.

It was a text from Tony.

"_Coffee? 5pm? See you there._"

Well, that answered the last question. Gibbs' voice resounded in her head, '_If you can make it work, than do it._'

* * *

**A/N: **Wow! Definitely didn't see that sort of response coming! So I had this chapter prewritten and changed a little more than half of it to incorporate more character interaction (instead of just Tony and Ziva talking it out) so hopefully it turns out okay! I _think_ I know where I'm going with this, but I kind of feel a few different plot bunnies pulling me in different directions.

Betherzz: Thanks for following me! I promise I need to finish my country list fic, its just been so gloomy over here it makes me want to write for all of the angst songs!  
.: I LOVE drunk Tony fics, and i usually try to keep them light hearted, too many angst drunk fics right now.  
SemperFiNeverForget051909: I was actually afraid people would think I was pushing OOC for them, so thanks!

And thanks for all of your reviews, they definitely keep me cranking stories out! The more reviews I get the faster I write.... true story. ;D Seriously, thanks for all the kind words. Hope you like this one, definitely going to be a LOT of comedy in the next chapter!


	3. Showers & Flashbacks

**Title: Showers and Flashbacks****  
Pairing: Tiva, with slight McAbby  
Rating: K+****  
A/N: **Thank you all for all of the kind words and lovely reviews!!**  
Summary: **Tony heads home to get ready for the coffee date, but lets his mind wander back to the past. Ziva seeks advice from Abby and McGee.

* * *

Tony headed for the door, exhausted by his pacing and over thinking. After spending nearly two hours with Abby and McGee he was no closer to a resolution of how to sort things out with Ziva.

"Thanks, both of you, but I think I'm going to go home and sleep some of this headache off and deal with this tomorrow."

"Oh. Uh…" Abby reached out her hand and gave Tony his phone, which McGee had kept from the night before. "You can't exactly do that, Tony…"

"Abby…"he said her name cautiously, "what did you do?"

She bit her bottom lip and stood up and down on her toes nervously. "I kind of set up a coffee date for you and Ziva."

She expected Tony to yell, if not at her then in McGee's general direction, but instead he stared at her with a blank stare that was becoming almost all too common in the past 12 hours. "…Coffee date."

"Yeah, at 5, so at least you have a couple of hours to sleep! …And shower? Honestly, Tony, I was trying to avoid it but you still really smell like bourbon. A lot of bourbon. Somehow Gibbs can pull it off with that sexy combination of bourbon and sawdust but you just smell like a bar crawler. Which kind of makes sense since that's pretty much what you did-"

"Okay!" Tony raised his hands in defeat. "I got it. I'll shower." He headed towards the door, stopping only briefly to thank his friends. He wanted to tell them how much it mean to him, how much they helped him talk things out. Instead he said, "And Abby, please don't tell me how you think Gibbs is sexy, it's a little unsettling," and he shut the door behind him.

Abby and McGee looked back and forth at each other as they watched Tony leave. Finally McGee broke the silence.

"It is a little weird, Abs."

-------

_Coffee? 5pm? See you there._

He read and reread the text in his outbox on his phone trying to make a game plan of what to say, what to do, and even how to act. All he had received was a text back with a single letter "K." That's as close as Ziva ever got to an abbreviation. He took Abby's advice and hopped in the shower first thing, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"2 o'clock, okay, gives me a _little_ time to strategize…"

Unlike other showers he let this one run cold, forcing himself to let the hard stream engulf his body. Running his fingers through his hair he spoke openly to himself.

"Maybe she doesn't even know what's going on? How could she? They would've told me if they said something to her, right?" He lathered his hair content with this thought, letting it calm his nerves some. The last conversation they had about their feelings wasn't really a specified conversation at all.

"_Ziva, it's fine, we can share a room." He listened to the Israeli curse, he assumed, under her breath. He nodded his thanks to the desk clerk and grabbed their bags. "It's only one night, and besides! It's Paris! I don't plan to stay in the hotel room longer than to shower. Let's go sight seeing!"_

_Ziva angrily grabbed her bag from his grasp. "It is __**not**__ fine Tony." She walked ahead of him, letting herself get angrier with each step. As she stepped into the elevator her voice came out curt, "and I do __**not**__ want to go sight seeing."_

Paris was, all at once, amazing and confusing, he mused. He had always wanted to go to Paris, granted he had always envisioned it with the love of his life and more than 24 hours. Fifty-fifty wasn't so bad. The 'error' made by the clerk he had attributed to a common mistake, naturally. That was until he got a text from Abby asking how the room was. Singular. He didn't tell Ziva this, not wanting her to be even more upset by their friends trying to place them in an… uncomfortable situation. So instead he just insisted he'd sleep on the couch.

"_Look, I want to do at least a little sight seeing," he pleaded with her._

"_And I am not going to stop you. Tony, I have seen Paris before, I am sure very little has changed." She had dropped her bags on the floor and headed for the bathroom, already running a shower._

"_Fine, but I get the shower first and you get the room to yourself while I'm gone." He carried his bag past her and faced her from the bathroom entrance combatively. "Deal?"_

_She looked him up and down and gave a little nod before returning to her bag and pulling out a novel she had started on the plane._

_He showered and dressed faster than he usually did, hoping to get out of the room before she found another reason to become more upset, but also to wander Parisian streets._

_As he headed out the door he glanced at her once last time. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"_

"_Tony.. There are very few things I am sure of in life, but of this I am sure." With that she retreated into the bathroom, not knowing how much her simple words had stung her partner still staring at the empty space she just occupied._

His mind jolted as he heard his phone ringing from his room. He decided to let it ring, instead thinking back to the rest of their time overseas.

-------

"Hello?"

"Abby?"

"Oh heeeey, Ziva…." Abby looked at McGee, motioning towards the phone, "What's up!"

"Have you talked to Tony today?" She sounded tired, Abby thought.

"Um… nope."

Ziva heard the hesitation in her friends voice. "Abby… are you lying to me?"

"…Oh no my roast is burning! Here's Tim!" She quickly tossed the phone to McGee who looked more caught off guard than Abby felt. After whispering a fight McGee put the phone to his ear.

"Hey, Ziva! Uh, what're you up to?"

"McGee, why is Abby cooking a roast in the middle of the afternoon?"

"Uh…"

Ziva waited.

"She wanted to try a new recipe?"

"McGee, there are many things you excel at but lying is not on the list." Ziva laughed slightly at both of her friends unease with the phone call, knowing no other way to respond. "Have you talked to Tony today?"

"…Yes." Silence. "Was there more to that question?"

"Maybe." She hadn't known what to expect, and definitely did not planning on having a conversation with McGee about… any of this. "He asked me to coffee today, do you know why? Please remember I can hear when you are lying to me." The last part was said with a smile, but scared him nonetheless.

"Yes… but Ziva, honestly, I don't think I'm the one to tell you anything, I really think you should talk to Tony about this." His words came out in one breath, Abby nodding at him in support. Ziva let out an exasperated sigh.

"You are right, but he is not answering his phone and I would like to know what I am going into."

"Getting into?"

"Was that a correction or a question?"

"Um. Both, I guess." McGee shrugged in confusion. "I don't know what he's going to tell you, honestly, Ziva, and if I did I wouldn't be able to lie to you about it anyway, right?"

"Right."

"So please, talk to Tony." He really wanted off the phone and out of the conversation before he said something that he didn't know the full story about. She was quiet for a moment and he could swear he could see her nodding on the other end.

"I will, thank you, Tim." They both hung up and McGee stared at the phone in his hand.

"Well? What'd she say?" Abby bounded next to him, staring at the phone as well.

"She called me Tim."

"So?" Abby was confused, but he looked up at her with worried eyes.

"Ziva rarely calls me Tim."

-------

_By the time Tony came back to the room the clock read 2:00am, and yet he found himself still wide awake. Not wanting the light from the TV to wake his assassin roommate he opted to lay on the couch until he fell asleep. He took an extra pillow and blanket from the closet, and propped himself with his hand behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His mind raced with thoughts of work, his past, his future, and back to the assassin. He had hoped she would change her mind and see Paris with him. She had been having a hard time readjusting, he noticed, even if she wouldn't let anyone else see. He wanted to give her one night, if only that, to just relax and be herself. But mainly, just be with him._

Tony exited the shower and as he dried himself off he glanced at the face in the mirror. It was so interesting, to him, to see the man he had become. He still had his boyish grin, but his eyes were somehow darker, with a smile he poetically mused it was to match his heavy heart. The back of his head had a patch of thinning hair, but to his defense he told himself it was from all the head slaps throughout the years. He was the same and yet so different all at once. He still had his moments, of course. His childish ways and annoying antics. He used it as his shield, his therapist told him, to protect himself from the real emotions he didn't want to show. What did he know about feelings, anyway?

_He had given up ignoring his feelings months ago. Before he knew what that bastard Salim had done to her. Before they thought she was dead. Before they even knew of her dangerous mission. The moment the plane left the tarmac with her still on Israeli soil, he gave up. When they had gotten her back, when he saw her safe in Gibbs' arms, he felt a strange feeling in his chest. He realized, days later, that it was his heart beating again. He shook his head hard. Who would have thought that the picture perfect frat boy would turn into such a romantic?_

He wandered back to his room and checked his phone. A text from Ziva. '_The usual?_' it read. He texted back her same '_K'_both knowing their destination. He lingered in front of the closet, not sure what to wear. _What a girl_, he thought. He grabbed some dark sandy colored khakis and a dark blue button up. Casual enough for coffee, he figured. After he was dressed he still had two hours to kill, so he sprawled out on his bed, letting his mind wander to the question that he's gone back and forth with for months.

"_Where did I go wrong?" he wondered out loud. He tried to give her space. He tried to make things go back to normal. He tried everything he thought of and even some, he admitted, he lifted from movies. In the end it was still the same. "Where did I go wrong?" A voice shattered his near silent musing._

"_It's going to take more than one night on a hotel couch to figure that out."_

_He bolted up and saw her sitting on the bed, staring at him. In the soft light he could see she looked no more tired than when they arrived._

"_Have you been awake this whole time?" he was surprised. He knew she didn't sleep on their flight, and if she had been awake this whole time… when was the last time she slept?_

_She shrugged. "Could not sleep."_

_He sat up and faced her. "Could not or would not?" He walked towards the bed, turning on a side lamp and it was then he saw the line of dried tears down her face. "Hey… are you-"_

"_I am fine, Tony," she cut him off before he could finish._

"_Zee-vah… you can't lie to me. This isn't fine." He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, "do you want to talk about it?" As soon as his fingertips made contact with her skin she flinched and he automatically regretted it, pulling his hand away._

"_I am fine." She looked away, a flash of shame in her eyes. He said nothing and just looked at her. Now she looked so small and frail, when moments ago she was the assassin, now she was just Ziva. He nodded silently and walked back to the couch._

_As he made his bed was more he heard her intake a deep breath. He turned slowly to face her and saw her still looking at him. "Tony…" she looked side to side as if literally searching for the words. "Just for tonight?" she asked as she crawled under the covers. He took his steps back to the bed softly and cautiously, afraid to break the moment they found themselves in. He got under the covers and lay next to her, not willing himself to touch her and scare her once more. She turned her back to him and he let out a breath, not sure why he was relieved. Before his breath was done her hand reached behind her and found his, draping his arm over her side. With a confused look she could not see he let her get comfortable. She slid back towards him so her front was pressed against her. She took a deep breath and for the first time in days, she slept._

He thought back to that night in Paris, the night they set these guidelines, so to speak. He couldn't let himself fall asleep. A part of him wanted to be awake for every moment, to enjoy every second of her body pressed against him. The conversation wasn't for what felt likes hours later, but in retrospect he was sure she was asleep for only an hour or so.

"_Tony?" she mumbled, rolling over to face him._

"_Yes, sweet cheeks?" He flashed her a soft grin, trying to hide the fact he had been awake the whole time._

"_Why did you come to get me?" The weight of the question hit him hard, he wasn't expecting something so… important._

"_I told you already."_

"_And that was the truth?"_

"_Seeing as how I had truth serum pumped through my veins, it would have been impossible for it to be a lie, right?" He raised his eyebrows at her, partly to tease her and partly because he was afraid to say those words again._

"_Why?"_

"_Why to which part?"_

"_Why…" she paused, looking into his eyes, "why can you not live without me."_

_He took a deep breath, trying to think of how to answer. He knew it would come up eventually, but didn't expect it to be like this at all. "Why were you ready to die?" was all he returned with. She rolled back over to their original position and he felt her muscles tighten. "Ziva? Tell me. Why were you ready to die?"_

"_Because… I could not live without you." Her words were slow and soft, he almost had to strain to hear them. He wore a huge smile on his face and tightened his arms around her. "But it seems that I cannot live with you as well."_

_His smile faltered._

He awoke from his nap immediately rolling over to check the time. He had fifteen minutes to get to the coffee shop. He jumped out of bed and headed to the door, his dream of Paris reminding him of how _not_ to let this conversation go. No, he couldn't make the same mistake twice, no matter how stubborn she is.

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A/N: Holy jeebs. I DID NOT plan for it to go that direction. Dang it and I hoped to NOT be one of the authors to write a JetLag fic... sigh. Oh well. THEY WILL HAVE COFFEE, I SWEAR IT. But I wanted a little back story. Hm. Ziva and Tony haven't even interacted in this fic yet... Amazing. I originally planned for this to be a two chapter fic, but lord knows where this is taking me. I'm hoping to have it wrap up in the next chapter but PLEASE let me know your reactions, ideas, or what you think is going to happen. THANKS FOR READING!! I love reading your reviews. (Hint hint! Haha.)  
Semper Fi.


	4. Coffee & Pastries

**Title: Coffee & Pastries****  
Pairing: Tiva  
Rating: K****  
Summary: **Finally, the coffee shop. Tony and Ziva plan to talk about their status, but does it actually go to plan?  
_A/N: This chapter and the next are going to be more angst than comical, it must be gettin serious for these two! Ahh! R&R_

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Ziva sat at their favorite coffee shop tapping her foot nervously. She sat at their usual table on the back patio, where he would normally people watch and pick at her pastries while she would go back and forth between reading and bantering with him. She looked around now, taking in the small details she had missed of the place before. Old brick was beneath her feat, covering the entire patio, though the wall only raised about 3 feet there were privacy bushes up to 8 feet high. Mixed in with the bland green bush were sprinkles of jasmine flowers, thriving throughout the thick brush. Each table was black metal with a glass top, black metal chairs to match. There were scattered overhead space heaters, perfect for this time of year, when the sun war warm but the air too chilly for comfort.

These little details she missed every time before, not because of infrequency, on the contrary, they came here at least once a week. These details never meant much to her, before now; before now she was always too focused on the man across from her to notice. But now she was trying to focus on anything else around her, ignoring his impending presence.

When she was honest with herself she knew that she had deep feelings for Tony. When they first met she had found him attractive, definitely, but in the short years they had known each other he had grown so much. He changed from a self-absorbed frat boy into.. well… the man he is today. There are times that he reverts back to his pranks, but she knows that she loves that about him too. In a way she felt jealous sometimes, that he was able to hold onto that child-like demeanor, when she was never allowed that even when she was a child. She had told Tony many times before that she did have her fun as a child, and it was true, though it was a different, more strict, planned fun, not the carefree innocence that she sees in Tony.

"_Why is that, Zi?" Her heart fluttered at the sound of a new nickname on his lips. He had never called her that before. No one had called her that before. When she didn't answer he asked again, "why can't you live with me?"_

"_Because," she exhaled softly, pulling his arms tighter around her, "I do not know how to."_

"_And that's why I can't live without you, sweet cheeks," he placed a kiss in her hair, "I don't know how to live without you." She was quiet for a few moments but her breathing told him she was still awake. "I tried to live without you for months and it drove me absolutely insane. Nothing was real anymore, nothing else mattered. And you know what I realized?" He pulled away from her and sat up, perched on one elbow, his free hand playing with the hair that framed her face. "I realize now, that it's so much harder to live with you right beside me, but not with me."_

She glanced at her watch, he still had twenty minutes. Out of nervous habit she had arrived early, hoping to give her time to calm her nerves, but all she could do is replay their conversation from Paris in her mind, with a combination of Gibbs' words running through her mind. Now that she had a few hours to think about the situation, she was genuinely touched by their boss' concern. He was a man of few words, but he was always a romantic at heart. His gestures were subtle but always spoke volumes. The fact that he showed up at her apartment was more than enough, let alone the words of encouragement that went along with the visit. Sometimes she wondered how he found that balance of calm and passion, because he had so much passion in life. She saw it every time he beamed with pride when Tony impressed him, when he kissed Abby on the cheek, or even when he used his few words of the day encouraging Tim and help his confidence. And oh the ways he had shown his compassion for her were beyond words.

_As he played with her hair shivers ran down her body. She looked up at him leaning over her and her heart swelled. She had a warm sensation in her chest she hadn't felt in years. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. It was so short that it could hardly be called a kiss at all but it still managed to take her breath away._

"_Gibbs."_

"_What?" Tony couldn't hide the shock in his voice. He pulled back visibly._

"_No, Tony," Ziva giggled and exhaled at once. She let her words linger as he sat there in confusion. "What about Gibbs'. And his rules. And… everything."_

"_Honestly, Zi," his body relaxed and he shook his head, "if falling from Gibbs' graces is my punishment then I'm willing to go for it." He leaned in again but she stopped him._

"_I cannot, Tony." She rolled over, back into their original position and sunk into him. "I cannot let you do that. I cannot let either of us do that… His rule is for a reason… I cannot be your partner and your… friend. I would not be able to separate the two, and I know you would not be able to either." He hesitated before he responded quietly._

"_I know."_

_He placed his chin on her shoulder as they lay there in silence, enjoying the comfort of each others bodies. Her smell was captivating to him and he almost drifted off to sleep by the comfort of her completely enveloping his senses._

"_So where do we go from here?"_

"_For now, my hairy butt, we just stay here. And enjoy what we are… and accept what we are not."_

She saw him as soon as he walked through the door of the café. Both a gift and a curse, it was as if she could feel his presence before she even saw him. She would catch the most subtle of smells that she knew was his cologne. He pretended to look around for her inside, though he knew exactly where she would be. She watched him as he casually sauntered out to the patio, trying too hard to be too calm.

"I'm glad you were able to get our table," his voice calm and even. She didn't like him calm, it unnerved her.

"I think they know us enough by now to know better," she smiled at him as he sat across from her, motioning to the wandering server. "I already ordered for you, since she saw you come in she should have it here soon."

"Did you remember my scone?"

"Yes, Tony, you will get your scone."

"Did you get one?"

"Why would I get a scone? Every time I get one you eat it anyway." She rolled her eyes amused for some reason. He shrugged slightly in response.

"It just tastes better off your plate." His voice was playful and the hint of a grin gave a soft glint in his eye, but she knew he was being, in his own way, sincere.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching people around them as they waited for Tony's coffee. When it arrived he thanked the server and finally started to think of the words to try to explain what he was thinking.

"Ziva," he hesitated and she looked at him expectantly."

"Tony?" Her heart was racing, and though she wore a calm expression on her face her foot tapped faster.

"I think we have to talk… about Paris." He fingered the cup and the saucer it sat on, ready to face his partners denials and avoidance.

"I do not think there is anything to talk about, Tony," she shook her head as if the conversation was already over. "Nothing happened, we did nothing wrong-"

"I _know_ that, I'm not saying otherwise. But I think we need to finish that conversation we started." He watched her body language. Though she was usually good at keeping every movement in check, today it would be her tell. She swallowed hard.

"I was not aware that it was unfinished." She stirred her coffee, trying to figure out what she wanted. Instead of reaching a conclusion she asked him, "Tony, what do you want from me?"

Her forthright question didn't surprise him, it was her style, but he still had no words.

"What do you want from _me_?" he repeated her question back to her. When she didn't answer right away he covered her hands in his on the table between them. "Ziva," he waited till she looked up at him, "what do you want from me? Forget about NCIS, forget about Gibbs, the director, Eli… what do _you_ want from _me_." His eyes showed persistence but patience all at once, confusion and understanding. It was then that she understood how truly enigmatic this man could be sometimes. She pulled her hands back from his.

"I want you to tell me why you came to Somalia." She held her breath, knowing he would not understand. He didn't. He rolled his eyes and threw his head back, hands up in defeat.

"Haven't I answered that enough for you? I never knew you to be vain, Ziva, but I can only tell you so many times, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't live without you!" He was frustrated, she knew, but somehow that didn't cover the question she asked.

"You went to Somalia, knowing I was dead-"

"But you weren't."

"But that was your basis for going, was it not? Would it have been different if you had known I was being held prisoner? Would you still have gone through with your plan?"

"Of course, Ziva! How could you think anything else? The only difference is I wouldn't have waited months to do it!" He ran his fingers through his hair, visibly shaken. "Those were the worst months in my _life_, Ziva. You're asking me why I went? I went to get revenge. I went for my vengeance, for my own sanity I had to meet the guy who gave me the worst months I'd ever faced alone and make him pay. Honestly, if I had known that Gibbs was going to snipe him I would have fought the plan so I could make him feel my anger," his hands were wrapped into tightly balled fists. Tony hadn't noticed she had moved her chair closer to his, so now she was next to him. She covered his fists with her soft hands. "I went there wanting to kill him, but more, I went there wanting to die." Her breath caught in her throat; she had alluded to this same thought that day, but he had never said it himself. "I told you, Ziva, I couldn't live without you."

She stayed silent, her hands still on his now loosened fists. She glanced back and forth from his suddenly tired eyes to their hands between them. Her mind was running in circles and yet she couldn't find a single word to tell him how she was feeling.

"Tony…"

"No," he took the cue from that single, breathy elongation of his name. "I don't want that from you Ziva." She looked at him quizzically. "I can hear the pity coming and I don't want it." He pulled his hands back and fiddled with him pockets looking for his wallet. "I get it. I'm sorry that I feel this way, but I don't want anything from you just out of pity."

"Tony-" she was more stern this time.

"What do you want from me, Ziva? Huh? What do you want." He was never very good at keeping his emotions in check when it came to her, and he was kicking himself for it right now. Her silence rang in his ears, he willed her to say something but she just sat and stared, obviously trying to find words but none were enough. "Fine. I knew this was a mistake." He stood up to leave and everything wasn't processing in Ziva's mind fast enough. He back his chair away from her, tossed some dollars on the table and looked down at her as he was about to leave. "I love you, Ziva, and I don't even know if you want that. Do you want me to lie? Do you want me to hide it from you? Shield you from it? …What do you want from me?"

Ziva sat there, staring up at him, mouth gaping, eyes still wide. _Did he just say he loves me?_ She pulled her hands closer to her. She debated telling him what he wanted to hear versus what he needed to hear. In the end, by the time she decided he had turned to leave.

"I can't believe they were pushing me to do this." He was a few strides away when he whipped back around, now his frustration turned to anger. "Did you know they were all pushing for this?" Voice still apparently lost Ziva just stared at him. "Yeah. McGee, Abby, even _Gibbs_ told me to go for it. Can you believe that? Mr. Rule 12 himself." He took two steps towards her than one step back, "Did you know he spent hours with _drunk_ me last night, letting me ramble to him about how crazy I am about you? Yeah, and this morning? He was supportive. SUPPORTIVE, Ziva." He laughed slightly to himself, "And to think, I was using all of these people and their disapproval to hold myself back from telling you and in the end it didn't matter anyway. You don't want me anyway." He stood staring for a second, shook his head and finally turned to leave, "See you at work, David."

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A/N: Ok, show of hands, who hates me right now? ... It's okay, I still blame the plot bunnies. See, in my head, this was a short little 2 chapter fic that ended nice and fluffy. Bunnies had a different idea. I already have the next (and final!) chapter 3/4 done, just wanted to get this up first. :) PLEASE REVIEW. I love getting email notifications, it really makes my day. Sorry for taking so long to post this, but good news- I'm joining the United States Marine Corp!! It was a lot of paperwork and waivers for me to deal with, so SORRY again for the delay in posting. :)  
Semper Fi.


	5. Wants & Needs

**Title: Coffee & Pastries****  
Pairing: Tiva  
Rating: K****  
Summary: **After Tony has left Ziva speechless, she gets her thoughts together and follows him to finally clear the air, and answer his question "What do you want from me?"  
A/N: Final chapter! Hopefully you don't hate me from the last chapter, believe me, we get a _little_ comedy in this one, if not the perfect ending you were looking for! Read 2nd A/N below.

* * *

Ziva hadn't noticed the people staring around her. Understandable, thinking about the temper tantrum Tony had just thrown. This was one of the things he let himself do that frustrated her so much. _But it is so Tony_, she thought to herself and smiled. She debated following him right away, but thought it best to give him a few minutes to calm down first. It would give her time to process everything that she had just been told.

She had her entire speech planned out by the time he walked through the patio doors. She was going to be calm and collected and they were going to both walk out of their favorite coffee shop, side by side, cordial. But things don't always go as planned.

"_Those were the worst months in my life, Ziva. You're asking me why I went? I went to get revenge. I went for my vengeance, for my own sanity I had to meet the guy who gave me the worst months I'd ever faced alone and make him pay…"_

This is where her mind started reeling. She had seen his heartbreak after the breakup with Jeanne. She had seen him after Jenny had died. Hell, she had met him when they were still grieving her predecessor. And yet after losing these people for a lifetime he still considered those months his worst? She couldn't believe she meant that much to him…

"_Honestly, if I had known that Gibbs was going to snipe him I would have fought the plan so I could make him feel my anger."_

She had noticed his balled fists. There were times when he could see the anger in Tony's eyes, but very rarely did they manifest in the desire to physically harm someone. He did talk tough, he made threats, but most of the times just threatening let him feel a little less tension. Part of her was touched, and she shook off that thought and realized how much pain he was causing himself with so much bottled up anger.

"_I went there wanting to kill him, but more, I went there wanting to die. I told you, Ziva, I couldn't live without you."_

When she had finally came to peace with the thought of dying, she considered herself the cause of it. She had killed more men and woman than she could count. She blindly followed orders, now unsure of the guilt of her past targets. Her own guilt had eaten away at her so much that she talked herself into being willing to die after weeks of torture at the hands of Salim and his men. But Tony? He was a kind-hearted all-American guy. He tweaked the law sometimes, but he would only toe the line. He had not killed in cold blood like she had. He had not felt pleasure in his job the way she did. And he actually felt something when he had to kill. She, at this point, did not.

She had been debating what to tell him. _I love you_ was her first and immediate response, but she was holding on to the last sliver of controlling her emotions that she could. She did not want to have their status interefere with their work. She did not want to get either of them transferred to a new team, she did not want to ruin the delicate balance of what they did have now.

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts debating back and forth. She left some more money on the table and left, knowing exactly where Tony would be going.

--------

"You know," she said softly walking down the basement stairs, "some people might say this is unhealthy, running to the boss' basement to get drunk. What does that say about our work relationships?"

"I don't know, David," Tony took a swig of bourbon, "what is your opinion on work relationships?" He saw her visibly wince. The bourbon numbed him just enough that he almost didn't care. Almost. She walked around the boat that sat in the middle of the basement, her fingers grazing the wood lightly. "There's no salt that could hurt this wound, Zi, so why are you here."

"Because, Tony, you still care. And so do I. I am here to fix this."

Her snorted. "I don't care."

"Yes, you do." She took the bottle from his hand mid-swig and placed it on the shelf beside her keeping herself directly in front of him. "Because I still do." She was always good at invading his personal space and this time she was so close she could nearly taste the bourbon on his lips.

"Yeah, well, maybe we started out from two different places." He moved around her, trying to put some space between them.

"We did." She turned and watched him find a the right sand block to smooth out some boards of the boat. "And that is what makes this so difficult for me, Tony."

"Then why are you here." He rubbed the sand block along with the grain, his hand sloppily veering off course more often than not.

She took slow steps around the boat as she gathered her thoughts, this time not wanting to let that process take too long. "We are from two different worlds, Tony. I have not had the... luxury… of sharing my emotions so freely before. In my job it gets you killed. It makes you sloppy, puts you in danger. I did not want that to be the case here."

"Listen, sweet cheeks, if you want to just more elaborately shut me down than earlier at least hand me the bourbon back."

"Shoot."

"…what?"

"Or out, I am not sure which idiom you are going for."

Tony stared at her, jaw on the floor, the spark back in his eye if only for a moment. "My my… Ziva David, did you just correct _my_ English?" He had a huge smile on his face, _Very Jack Nicholson_, she thought. _I __**do**__ spend way too much time with Tony…_

"You are drunk. I am sure that if sober you would have been fine."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence." He shot her a grin and went back to working on the boat.

_Good, _she thought, _light, banter…. Good._ She took a deep breath and continued.

"Tony I do not want you to think that I don't-"

"You're going back to pity, Ziva, I told you I don't want it." He didn't even look up from the woodworking.

"This is not pity, Tony. You asked me what I want from you, did you not?" He stopped his hands, leaving the sand block on the wood he held up a finger signaling her to wait and then bee-lined for the bourbon once more. He took a decent size gulp and went back to his previous task and nodded. "You asked me what I want from you… and I do not want anything."

His chest felt as if it had sunken in on itself, and his lungs collapsed. His body continued the motions, but his head was spinning. There were no words, no way to make this light, no way to keep it cordial. He just kept his hands moving.

She watched his eyes glaze over and took a deep breath as she prepared for the rest of her thoughts. She took a few quick steps and closed the space between them and before he noticed she had even moved her hands rested gently on top of his. His skin was hot to the touch.

"I do not want anything from you, Tony," she repeated as she waited for him to look at her. When he did she raised his chin up to look her in the eyes, "but I do need you." He furrowed his brow, confused. "I do not want this, Tony." she rolled hey eyes and looked around them. "I do not want you to be so mad at me that you come to Gibbs' basement to escape me. I do not want to be the one who causes you so much pain. I do not want this… lack of ability to distinguish my feelings for you as partner, friend, or whatever other options there are! Do you think I want this?" He continued to stare at her, not wanting to interrupt her train of thought. "I do not want any of this, but I don't know any other option that sounds just as good."

She took both his hands in hers and faced him, his back to the boat. "I want you to be happy. Is this happy for you? Is this what it has come to?" He put his hands around her waist.

"Well, something's getting happier right now…" she glanced between them and swatted his arm. He smiled but didn't let of her. "I don't want to be at you. I don't want to have this desire to escape you. I'll admit," he shrugged, "I kind of like the baesment so I can't add that to the list," she smiled and it warmed his chest, "right now I can't distinguish what you are to me, and it's already driving me crazy, so you might as well put me out of my misery. Give me a definite title, definite reason to be crazy about and around you."

Instead of answering, her words and lack thereof have caused so much drama already, she put her hand behind his head and pulled him towards her. Their kiss was gentle, hesitant and sent shivers down her back. They had kissed before, but that wasn't them. That was their personas. This was them. No acting. No faking. This was both of them finally being honest.

Tony pulled back first. "So, Zee-vah, what does this mean? Just so we're on the same page. Are we dating, together…?" She thought for a second and with playfully slit eyes she responded.

"This means that you will always have this 'Ninja Chick' to kick your ass when you act up."

His eyes widened. "McGee showed you??"

"No, Gibbs did."

"You talked to Gibbs?!"

"No, he talked to me. This morning when he came over to my apartment." Tony was stuck on stupid, stunned to silence. "Well this is a first. Are you speechless, Agent DiNozzo?"

"No.. just a little slow right now." His face light up as he looked down to her, "do you know what this means, Zi? Having the approval of the team, especially Gibbs?"

"That we are idiots for letting it get to the point where Gibbs sees what we do not?"

"…yeah, that too, I guess." He shook his head, silly grin still on his face, "this means that we can actually _be_ together. Not like McGee and Abby having to dance around for months keeping it a secret. That will make life so much easier." She just smiled back at him, finally glad to see him smile and know she was the cause for it instead of his pain.

He tightened his grip around her waist and pulled him to her, kissing her much deeper with no passion held back. One hand on his back, the other lost in his hair she moaned slightly in his mouth. They didn't hear the two top steps of the stairs creek.

"DINOZZO! DAVID! 'No grab ass' isn't just office policy! No grab ass on my boat!"

They didn't even jump apart at the sound of their boss' voice. They slowly pulled away and looked in each others' eyes, finally content and on the same page with each other. At least telling the team wouldn't be hard.

"Tiva!" they heard Abby shout from right outside the basement door, "or Zony!" They could hear her bouncing with excitement.

"Well," Tony shrugged, "that's' what I get for calling them McAbby, I guess."

He kissed Ziva one more time, and hand in hand they walked upstairs to their supportive team. Their family.

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A/N: Well? What'd you think?? As I said, I'm so sorry it took so long for these chapters, but hopefully it was worth the wait! Thank you all for your lovely reviews, the more detail the better writer I become. Let me know what you liked, didn't like, certain phrases, characterizations, whatever! :) And for anyone who was wondering... **_For Lack of a Better Idea_** was supposed to be a working title. It was originally "For lack of a better title", and thats how I labeled this story in my FanFic folder, haha. I was going to try to work it into the story somehow, but that plot bunny scampered away and I changed my mind. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review!


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